Jessica Pegula defeats Coco Gauff in Berlin rain-delayed semifinal, faces Anna Kalinskaya in final

Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff's Berlin Open semifinal match was suspended at an inopportune time on Saturday. After Pegula won the first set and the second set tiebreaker began, the rain came down. Pegula and Gauff had to wait until Sunday to resume play knowing that the winner of the match would also be facing Anna Kalinskaya for the Berlin Open title.

The question would be if Gauff who was down 1-3 in the tiebreaker could work her way back into it when play resumed. She is the American women's top seed and would have been the favorite if she could win the tiebreaker and move the match into a deciding third set.

Pegula kept her foot on the gas pedal and won the tiebreaker 7-2. She is into her first final of the season having missed the Middle East hardcourt swing and the European clay court swings of the tour this year with injuries.

Jessica Pegula vs. Anna Kalinskaya

Pegula and Kalinskaya played once previously on the Washington, DC hardcourts at the 2019 Citi Open. Pegula prevailed in three sets.

Both players are more well-known for their results on the hardcourts so it is a surprising twist to see both of them in this WTA 500 grasscourt final. Kalinskaya's path to the final involved two Grand Slam champions retiring from matches against her due to injuries. In the Round of 16, Marketa Vondrousova slipped on the grass and was forced to retire when the match was tied at 5-5. Aryna Sabalenka retired with a shoulder injury at 1-5 against Kalinkskaya in the quarterfinals.

Kalinskaya has been subjected to more off-court scrutiny since fans became aware that she is dating ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Sinner is in the final at the Halle Open so she and Sinner are trying to do what another tennis couple did last week when Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur both were champions of their tournaments.

Kalinskaya's last finals appearance was in Dubai this spring when she lost to Jasmine Paolini. She has one title win at the WTA 125 Prague Open clay court tournament in 2019. Pegula is seeking her fifth career WTA title, the first ever on grass.

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